Metamorphosis
by ArdanTheWolf
Summary: A human raised by a quarian. Having lived in the Migrant Fleet for most of his life, watch as Shiv'Shenta nar Alarei discovers his true identity and transforms into Aiden Shepard, savior of the galaxy, and is reunited with a young quarian whom he fell in love with at a young age. Rated M for violence, language, and eventual explicit themes.
1. Chapter 1

**Shiv**

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**Yep. This is happening right now. It started as an exercise to eliminate wrter's block and... well... this happened.**

* * *

Once again, the father was too absorbed in his experiments to pay attention to his daughter. Even at the young age of sixteen, she had practically raised herself, since her mother died. She had a strong sense of independence, despite her people's communal nature. Due to this independent nature, she disliked the fact that an unofficial law kept her practically leashed to the father that didn't care about her.

Quarian society loathes neglect, and it is generally deemed unacceptable for them to leave their children alone for long periods of time, even under the care of a friend. Thus, her beloved, yet unrelated, Auntie Raan, was unable to take care of her for the duration of this experiment.

For three months, she would be alone practically all the time. She had no friends on the Alarei, and was not the best at making new ones. Social anxiety was a curse

And this ship was so boring! It was a research ship, which would have interest her, but children, even teenagers, were not allowed in the labs. Military testing was too dangerous for young ones. So, she decided to spend her day poking around the cargo hold. Not exactly something she was supposed to be doing, but she was only a "child." People had gotten away with worse at her age, including her father

As she walked around the bay, examining the steel crates and occasional loose object, she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched. No one worked in the cargo bay, though. Only the occasional VI drone, and they couldn't see her, due to a handy cloaking system she had whipped up. It didn't make her physically invisible, but simple VI's couldn't see her at all

So, she continued her walk, cautiously. After a few minutes, she became aware of a bright blue light out of the corner of her eye. Stopping suddenly and whipping around, she saw a tiny drone. It was only a few centimeters in diameter, with the same design of other spherical drones. However, it seemed to have much deeper programming, due to its almost startled response to her action. It backed away, before shooting behind a nearby crate. It could see past her cloak, meaning that it was far more complex than most drones.

"You scared him," explained a voice. The young quarian girl jumped at the sudden break of silence, turning towards its source

To her surprise, a young boy was sitting atop one of the larger crates. He had a pitch black envirosuit on with red fabric and a crimson visor. He looked to be somewhere around seventeen or eighteen, due to his height and build.

He leapt down from his position, and the girl was astonished by how he seemed to almost float to the ground. He had been twenty feet up, and during his fall, a blue glow appeared that seemed to carry him gently to the metal floor below

"I'm Shiv'Shenta nar Alarei. What's your name?" Well, he seemed quite chipper, for someone who spent their time in a cargo hold. Oh, wait, that was where she was.

"I'm Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." She eyes the boy suspiciously. "What are you doing in the cargo hold?

"This is my home," he answered, spreading his arms, gesturing to the whole room. "Me, little Ash over there," the VI flew over to hover by Shiv's shoulder, "and a whole lotta technology." Tali was taken slightly aback. This child lived in the cargo bay? And..

"You steal technology from the crates?" she gasped. "How dare you!" She hated thieves, as all quarians do, and would not hesitate to report one to the authorities. In fact, she was about to, before Shiv raised his hands in defense

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" exclaimed the boy. "I'm no thief!" Tali was still suspicious, but would at least allow him to explain. "I'm sort of like a scavenger, but the military officers here pay me to do it." That made no sense

"That makes no sense," stated Tali. "Why would you receive payment for scavenging what we already have?

"Those drones working around the bay? Most of the MFM's shields? Hell, half of their better weapons? All designed and custom-built by me." Impossible

"That's impossible. You're..."

"Just a kid?" finished Shiv. He shook his head, chuckling. "Follow me." He began to walk towards the massive crate he had been sitting atop. She followed cautiously, watching as he performed a few hand gestures. Suddenly, a holographic keypad appeared on the side of the otherwise utterly flat wall. Tali watched in surprise as he inputted an impressively long number, before pushing on the wall. A door, impossible to see unless one knew where to look, pushed into the crate, sliding to the left

That's when it was revealed. One of - no - the strangest living space she had ever laid eyes on. The walls were lined with weapon parts, bits of electronics, scrap metal, and various pieces of junk. In one corner was his small, disheveled bed that was covered in what appeared to be pieces of a sniper rifle. The strangest part of the room, however, was the staggering amount of element zero.

It was everywhere! On the shelves, on the walls, scattered across the floor. Tali had no idea what the boy could need this all for. "Why all the element zero?" she asked.

"Helps me focus," answered Shiv. "I'm a biotic. We become much better at pretty much everything when around eezo."

"A biotic?" She had read a little bit about biotics on the extranet, but had never seen one in the fleet. As far as she knew, there were no quarian biotics.

"You're probably thinking that there are no quarian biotics, right?" She nodded, bringing another chuckle from the boy. "Well, let's just say I'm no normal quarian." She could practically see him grin through his visor, but didn't bother inquiring further. She wouldn't get anything out of him anyway.

"So it seems," she commented. "So, you say you design weapons?" She found this boy interesting, if a bit odd

"Indeed. In fact, I've been recently working for one quarian in particular to develop an advanced EMP cannon." He gestured to a pile of eezo. "It runs on that beautiful mineral. Strong enough to theoretically take down an entire army of Geth if used effectively." Amazing

"What type of weapon could do that? Is it a vehicle weapon? Or a ship?

"Neither. Handheld." No handgun could be that powerful. It was impossible. The sheer amount of power required would be immense

"How?" she asked, simply. She had always been quite interested in weaponry, and this strange, young man seemed to know more than most about it

"Well, I'm not actually supposed to tell anyone. Direct orders from Rael'Zorah hims-" he caught himself immediately. "What did you say your name was?

"Tali." She shuffled slightly. Great, one person who didn't seem to care about her father had just put two and two together.

"Your family name, I mean."

"Zorah. Yes, I am Rael'Zorah's daughter!" she practically shouted the last words, the anger over her father's legacy finally letting itself out. Shiv just stood, stunned, while Tali backed away. Upon hitting the wall, she slid to the floor, putting her head in her hand. Small sniffles made their way through her audio output, but she didn't care to disable it.

She sat there for what felt like several minutes, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Confused, she looked up to see Shiv's visor in her face. The red tint faded slightly, and she saw a more detailed, though still shrouded, face through it. She realized that his eyes did not glow like most quarians. Now, however, he noticed a strange gentleness in his eyes that she had never seen in anyone else's.

"I imagine people expect a lot from you, being an admiral's daughter." She nodded sadly, saying nothing. Shiv sighed, looking down. He gestured for her to do the same, bringing his legs to her attention. They were bent the wrong way, and he had too many toes. Five on each foot.

"I was brought here by my father sixteen years ago. Well, he wasn't really my father, but he sure as hell acted like one. He was an ambassador of sorts, trying to set up a trade agreement with Earth. They turned him away immediately, and he began the 'walk of shame' back to his ship.

"Apparently, some xenophobic 'activists' had transcended into terrorists and firebombed the pan-species school I went to. My father, ever the altruist, ran into the burning building and started to bring people out. He found me..." he trailed off, and Tali noticed the tears running down his face through his visor.

"He found me with my biological parents. My mother was a teacher and my father a janitor. They were both dead. My quarian father pulled me, a screaming two-year-old, from the corpse of my mother, and saved me from her fate.

"Naturally, the bosh'tets on Earth spun the story in the most poisonous light, damn near making my father out to be the terrorists, despite several eye-witness accounts of him saving us." His fist clenched as he spoke of the injustices his father faced on Earth.

"I had no next of kin. No one wanted me, so my father took me in. He brought me back to the Alarei and persuaded the Conclave to allow me to stay. He got me a suit and quarian citizenship." A light smile came across his face along with a fond memory, but quickly faded.

"He died from a suit rupture five years ago, and with him, most of my rights as a quarian. Two of the Admirals were quick go want me kicked out of the fleet." She could guess who they were. "However, before they could do anything, I showed them I was worth keeping." His holodrone, Ash, popped up, flying circles around the room.

"Ash, my pride and joy. Originally manufactured from a scrap of eezo and a circuit board, I created a drone more advanced than anything else in the fleet, without transcending into artificial intelligence. He proved that, despite my young age, I could prove invaluable to an R&amp;D ship like the Alarei.

"Once I started making guns and shields at thirteen, the Migrant Fleet Marines got behind me. They're good men and women, and would not let the kid making their equipment get kicked out. So, now I invent and develop extremely potent shields for the MFM, and most of their weaponry. Hell, I've not even gone on my pilgrimage yet!

Tali was shocked. A human living amongst quarians. A brilliant human, at that. And one who had yet to go on his pilgrimage. This was truly an extraordinary individual.

"But enough life stories," stated Shiv. "I was just about to start up a vid before I noticed you wandering into my cargo hold. You seem a bit bored, care to watch with me?" She was slightly surprised by his sudden change in attitude, but it was still quite welcome. She nodded, looking around for somewhere to sit. Once they were both comfortable, Tali looked over to Shiv.

"What vid is this?" she asked.

"It's a classic. Ever heard of Fleet and Flotilla?"

* * *

Three months had passed. The next day, Tali'Zorah would be returning to the Rayya. To her slight surprise, she was actually saddened by this. She had become close friends with Shiv'Shenta, another outlier of quarian society.

She was actually currently returning to his living space to say goodbye. Upon finding his cargo container, she knocked on the side. Strangely, it did not open. She tried again, a bit more forcefully. This time, the door slid open, and she entered. It closed suddenly, behind her, as usual.

Unlike usual, however, was the fact that Shiv was nowhere to be seen. Ash was still hovering around, but he could not speak of his creator's whereabouts. He did, however, acknowledge her entrance with a series of happy chirps and whistles. She smiled at the drone, and watches as he flew across the room, circling around Shiv's desk. She followed, finding a note on the metal surface. She picked up the datapad, reading her friend's words slowly and deliberately.

_My dearest friend, Tali'Zorah_

_I regret that I could not be there to say goodbye. Indeed, I am aware that you must leave tomorrow. If I could, I would have been there to wish you farewell. Alas, I am also to leave. Admiral Rael'Zorah has decided to send me on my Pilgrimage today, and I have no choice but to agree._

Tali's heart seized as she read the last two sentences. Her father had just happened to send her best friend on his pilgrimage thr day before she returned to the Alarei? Her father, who was known to detest non-quarians, had sent Shiv, a human, out of the fleet early. She had not known that he was aware of their friendship. Angry and sad, she continued reading.

_I do not know when I will be back, if at all. So, I have left you a few things. Some as gifts, and some that I know you will take care of. First of all, I leave you my special edition copy of 'Fleet and Flotilla,' since I know you love that vid more than anyone in the galaxy. Probably even the producers._

_Second, I leave you Ash. He needs periodic tune-ups that I might not be able to perform on my Pilgrimage. He also requires a monthly supply of eezo to maintain his systems. You can find that all over my living space, as you are aware._

_Finally, I leave you something that you might not want to take until it is time for your Pilgrimage: a shotgun. Not just any shotgun, mind you, but a shotgun specifically designed to be nearly weightless and pack more punch than a raging Thresher Maw._

_You've been an amazing friend since we met three months ago. I can't wait to see you again._

_P.S. I have no damn idea of where to transfer to. I was thinking about the Neema, but I'm not sure._

Tali was shocked. He had left her Ash? That little drone had been his only companion for years. And the shotgun? One of his personal weapon projects? That would certainly give her an advantage come her own Pilgrimage.

She was still pissed at her father, but felt better after reading the letter from her friend. It caused her to think about how close they had grown since meeting.

It was childish, but part of her was alway fantasizing about being bonded with him. He was the single, most intelligent person she had ever met, and was quite handsome, to boot. Unlike most, he seemed to care more about her than who her father was.

Suddenly, her romantic thoughts were cut short by one noise a quarian dreaded above all else: an explosion. It sounded like it came from across the ship, near the...

Oh no. The hangar.

Without a second thought, Tali immediately sprinted through the door, which had interior motion sensors. Bounding down the halls, past crowds of bystanders and emergency personnel, the time it took to arrive at the hangar felt agonizingly slow.

When she was almost there, her father stopped her from reaching her destination. It was as if he had been expecting her. He held a single hand out to stop his daughter and would not move.

"You are not entering the hangar, Tali," he stated, no emotion in his words. "It is far too dangerous." The bosh'tet was serious.

"You are not keeping me out, father. My best friend is in there!" She attempted to push her father's hand aside, but he refused go budge.

"He is a human! He does not belong in the Fleet, let alone in your heart!" So, that was what he was afraid of. Romantic attachment between his daughter and a human. Selfish bastard.

"I don't give a damn what you think!" screamed Tali, tears trailing down her cheeks. "I am in-" she was cut off by the large hangar door suddenly opening. The smell of death was strong, but one survivor could be saved. The body of Shiv'Shenta was being wheeled down the hall. He was gasping for breath, his suit punctured and his vitals erratic.

"Shiv!" Tali exclaimed, running to the human. At her voice, he seemed to calm, looking to her. She followed the medics who were frantically shouting for people to move.

"We need to get him to a sterilized location!" ordered one of the doctors. "Do we have any human blood?"

"No," responded one of the others. "We don't have any levo blood at all. How the hell are we going to operate?" At this, Shiv finally spoke.

"U-under my bed. A secret compartment. Blood bags, prosthetics, medicine. T-Tali can show you." He, once again, faded into unconsciousness. One of the doctors who knew Tali immediately looked to the young quarian.

"This way!" she shouted, sprinting down the hall.

It had been two weeks since the accident. Tali had hardly left the room adjacent to Shiv's. Se had barely slept or eaten. She refused to abandon her friend, and would not even take orders from her father.

Today, however, it would all pay off. She had been waiting for some news, and this would be the first time he had gotten anything beyond "he is still alive."

Several of the doctors had been exiting the room throughout the day. Only one more remained, and once he exited, her heart seized. Would he have bad news?

"Tali'Zorah..." he began. "Shiv'Shenta is in a stable condition, and has asked for you by name. He refuses to speak to us before you, and asks that your meeting be private. We would ask you to be brief, for his sake." Without another word, the doctor left.

Within moments, Tali was in the room. For a moment, she suddenly wished that she wasn't. Shiv was hooked up to several machines, and his arm... his arm had been totally replaced with a robotic prosthetic. The sight was almost terrible, but one, undeniable fact kept her joyous:

Shiv was alive.

He turned his head, smiling at her. He was completely nude, aside from the gown and bandages. She had never really seen his face, and was taken aback by his handsomeness. He was thin, yet muscular, with short hair and clean-shaven face. He looked to be in a lot of pain, but would try his hardest not show it to her. He really was selfless. She approached the bed, smiling back at her friend

"Hey, Tali," he greeted, weakly. "How long were you out there?

"Since you got here," she croaked. She was so happy to see him alive, but also saddened by his terrible situation. She unconsciously reached for his organic hand, breathing a sigh of relief as his five, smaller fingers wrapped around hers. They stared into each others' eyes for a long time, both wishing that there wasn't so much keeping them apart.

At that moment, Tali didn't care about the things that separated them. She had come too close to losing him to hold herself back. Her free hand slowly rose, reaching for her mask. Shiv was too absorbed in her eyes to notice until her fingers reached the release buttons. His eyes widened in surprise and fear.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "This room is too full of germs. You could get si-

"I don't care," she stated. "I almost lost you. I can't risk that happening again without seeing you in a vision unclouded by this damn visor." Before he could argue, she pressed down on the release, and a quiet hissing emanated from the mask. She felt it loosen, and slowly began to remove it. She was afraid of what might happen to her, but not nearly as afraid as she was of never seeing him with her natural eyes.

They were young. Eighteen and sixteen. It was unheard of for quarians to reveal their faces to each other at such young ages. However, he had not been given much of a choice, and she was too possessed by desire to care. After several moments, she set her mask on the bed, taking in the vibrance of uncovered vision. Shiv looked even more attractive now, but it may just have been his face upon seeing her

Neither knew what the galactic standards for beauty were at the time, but at that moment, Shiv believed she would be considered the most beautiful woman in existence. She had smooth, alabaster skin and purple-tinted hair that matched her eyes. Shiv was utterly stunned.

"Ancestors ," he whispered. "Tali, you are..." He reached up to her face with his organic arm, reluctantly untangling his fingers from hers, and caressed her face. He was extremely gentle, as if she were too precious to touch. "You're beautiful.

The mixture of emotions, from happiness to sadness to love, was too intense for them to handle. In unspoken agreement, they began to move towards each other. Shiv leaned up as far as he could, and Tali bridged the gap. When their lips touched, it felt as if everything else in the universe disappeared. All that remained was them, and the intense joy they felt at being together. Most adults would laugh at them having such 'romantic' feelings. After all, they were only children.

But this was so much more than childish love. This was real. Shiv moved his hand to rest on the back of her neck, pulling himself further into the kiss. Tali did much the same, moving her hands to either side of his head. Their kiss began to grow in passion, their mouths moving against each other sloppily. They had no finesse, but couldn't care less.

It just felt too amazing to care.

* * *

With no shortage of threats to join Shiv on his Pilgrimage, Tali managed to persuade her father to avoid sending him off early. quarians generally left at twenty to twenty-one, and Tali would only allow her boyfriend to leave then

Their relationship remained a secret, only surviving through frequent vid-calls and rare physical visits. The only person she confided in was her Auntie Raan. The older quarian was not generally a trustworthy woman when it came to politics, but she would never betray Tali's confidence. She had been to close to her mother to do such a thing.

She took the news surprisingly well, showing great happiness for her honorary niece. She did, however, feel compelled to warn her of the dangers such a relationship possessed. Aside from the obvious health dangers of being romantically involved with a human, there were also the inevitable social consequences. Her father would almost certainly not accept the idea, nor would most quarians. This was not exactly an attractive prospect, but Tali refused to take social standing over Shiv.

All of this and more was going through Tali's head as she stood aboard the Alarei, waiting in the hangar. She had become much more independent throughout the last two years. She had not even asked permission from her father to take a shuttel to the Alarei this time. Twenty-four Quarians were being sent on their Pilgrimages today, and she would be there to wish them farewell.

The moment she saw Shiv, she ran up to him and leapt into his arms. They embraced for several moments, before pulling away to look at each other. Today, neither cared about appearances. If they could, they would have removed their masks and kissed in front of everyone.

"You had better come back to me soon, bosh'tet," she ordered, eliciting a small chuckle from the taller man.

"But of course," he responded. "The Neema, we agreed?" They had even chosen a ship they would both move to upon their returns. Tali prayed their relationship would survive their Pilgrimages. By law, they would not be able to contact each other in any way.

"Indeed." She pressed herself into his arms once more, holding back tears. "I love you, Shiv'Shenta nar Alarei."

"And I love you, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." The last two years had gone by so quickly. Tali wanted more time. She only clung to the knowledge that they would always be together when this was all over.

"Alright!" shouted the pilot of the transport they were leaving on. "You've had time to day your goodbyes, so let's go. It's a long way to your destinations." Tali, along with several friends and families of the other passengers, regretfully stepped away, watching as they entered the freighter. Ash, which had been activated the entire time, let out a series of sad whistles before returning to Tali's side.

She stood there, watching as the freighter flew away. She was sad, but also hopeful. She wondered what he would bring back. She had looked through the destination list. Pilgrimage destinations were randomized, but his still seemed oddly convenient. Shiv'Shenta nar Alarei, a human raised in the Migrant Fleet, would be returning to his birthplace.

He was going to Earth.

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So, yeah. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

**EARTH**

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**Holy. Fucking. Shit.**

First of all, a huge thanks to everyone's reviews. It's been a rough couple of years since I published the first chapter, and seeing so many people review what I originally only did to prove that writers' block was bullshit made me feel damn good.

I know that it's been a long time. I know that the following chapter will be underwhelming for many of you. I know that most of the people who originally read chapter one won't even remember this story exists. But all the same, I hope you enjoy it.

Also, if it seems a bit off in terms of pacing and such (moreso than my usual writing) please understand that I have been on-and-off writing this for two years _AND_ semi-literally lost my mind halfway through.

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"Come on, suit rat. We're counting on you." The Turian's joking use of the slur had stopped being offensive some time ago, and was now just a light hearted gesture. "If you can get us in, we'll be set for life. Maybe you'll even be able to but yourself a ship and get back to your girl." He was certainly hoping for such a result; for once, it seemed to be in reach.

"Everything we'll need is in my Omni. We won't be detected or traced, and I've prepared for every situation I can think of." His monitor was blank, save for a basic desktop with an N7 wallpaper. However, in a spare omni-tool were several terabytes worth of illegal hacking software. It was programmed to be the perfect infiltration tool, built up over the months he had been on Earth. It had been nearly a year, but he anticipated being able to leave soon.

He was part of a small group of hackers calling themselves Axis. Made up of two Turian brothers, a young Asari, a Human, and himself, they were all from poor backgrounds and blessed with genius intellects. Pushed down by poverty of the lower city in New York, forbidden access to public education and forced to teach themselves, they did the only thing they could: crime. It was not violent, and they only took from people who deserved it.

When they saw someone as "deserving" of their particular form of punishment, they _meant _it. These were corrupt politicians, murderers and rapists who only got away with it through bribery, and every form of scum with credits to spare. They would prove this by hacking their way into personal accounts and finding evidence. No matter who it was, these people always left something behind. After robbing them blind, Axis would leave these files with the authorities, and watch while they burned with no money left to bribe with.

"Never expected anyone in the Mincer family," observed Aalia, the Asari. "Heard they were big philanthropists. Figured we'd never find a skeleton this big in the head's closet." Terris Mincer was one of the richest men on Earth, and its leading philanthropist. He donated billions of credits to charities, and was looked up to by millions. In truth, Shiv was reluctant to steal from him, despite his apparent crimes. He had managed to convince his colleagues to only steal a few million, not wanting to tear apart such an organization no matter how sick its leader was.

"The guy's gotta have some sort of disease." Smythe, the Human, spoke with a thick New Yorker accent, having been born and raised in the lower city. He knew how to break codes, no matter how heavily encrypted they were. "No one's that fucked up. The crazy bastard killed and raped two girls, and no one ever found out. He deserved everything that's coming to him."

"Then let's give it to him." With Aalia's words, everyone turned to their monitors, starting up their programs. Most of the process was automated, and it was all shared through a small intranet connected through Shiv's omni-tool. They started to siphon funds from Mincer's accounts, taking in small amounts from each of them. It added up, and before long they each had two million credits. It would take a while to circulate, but they would have it soon.

After a few hours, it was done. The money was being laundered, but the job was finished. Shiv was relieved, and was just in the process of dropping off the relevant files, when they heard the sirens. From the sound of it, the police were there in full force, at least two cars for each of them.

Without a word, they each sprinted to the exits. Unfortunately, the Turian brothers weren't nearly agile enough for the windows. Their only chance was the door, which already had officers behind it. One of them was knocked to the ground with a baton, while the other was tased. Shiv couldn't afford to look back as he took to the window. Running across the rooftop, he, Aalia, and Smythe reached a ledge. It was too large for a normal person to traverse, and Smythe wasn't biotic. Aadia was already shooting across, and Shiv had to make a choice. He had never particularly liked the Human, but it would be heartless to leave him to the mercy of the authorities. However, getting him across would take time, which was a precious commodity.

"I'm sorry!" Using his biotics, Shiv blinked across the gap almost instantly, leaving Smythe to his fate. He could feel the Human's despair as the police caught up with him, and could practically feel as they began to beat him. However, he did not stop running. He and Aadia were making a good distance, free running across the rooftops while periodically making impossible jumps with biotic assistance. However, their luck couldn't keep up.

As they reached another gap, a gunship rose from between the buildings. It turned to the side, and two armored officers jumped to meet them. Aadia appeared to be preparing some sort of biotic blast, but the officers were too fast. Without a moment to lose, the first one down pulled out a pistol and shot her in the leg. She lost her focus, falling over. The second down was a biotic, and put her into a stasis.

Shiv had nowhere left to run. He could not risk fighting these men; he could only think of Tali. Damage like what Aadia took would lead to a suit rupture, and that could potentially lead to death. She would never know that he died on Earth. He could only hope that his previous assistance to the authorities would reduce his sentence. More officers departed from the gunship and surrounded him as he raised his hands in surrender.

'Keelah,' he thought. 'I'm sorry, Tali.'

* * *

Shiv sat in his cell, considering his predicament. He was guilty of massive counts of larceny and vigilantism. He could face years in prison, and even that was only due to his scrounging up an Earth citizenship from his childhood. Otherwise he'd be facing extradition, and no ship would accept such a criminal. This could end with him being sent somewhere like Omega, though he guessed his chances in a place like that were significantly better than here.

However, when someone entered it wasn't a police officer, as he had been expecting. It was an older fellow wearing a fancy alliance outfit. He had grey hair covered by a blue hat, a short goatee, and blue eyes. A long scar stretched down his right cheek to his upper lip. He stood in the doorway with two alliance guards behind him, staring at Shiv.

"Your scans show that you're Human, and have an average immune system. Why are you wearing a Quarian environmental suit?" The man spoke to-the-point and with a great deal of authority. He was obviously a very important person.

"I was raised in the migrant fleet," explained Shiv. "My father adopted me on Earth after my biological parents were murdered." Shiv stood to be on the soldier's level. He was significantly taller than the older man, looking down at him.

"I see. Your record says you were one of the survivors of an attack on a pan-species school. Your name is _supposedly _Aiden Shepard, but you didn't keep that in the fleet, did you?" Shiv did not know how the man knew that, but went along anyway.

"No. My father named me Shiv'Shenta, taking me into his family fully. I hail from the Alarei, and have been an engineer since I could operate an omni-tool. Now, what is your name and position?" The man chuckled lightly at Shiv's blunt question.

"I like you, kid. I'm Admiral Steven Hackett, fifth fleet. I'm here to recruit you." Shiv was shocked. One of the Humans' admirals was personally there to recruit him? It didn't make any sense. He stared into the admiral's eyes, looking for something to work with. Unfortunately, he wasn't much of a people person. He worked with machines, not Humans. Even his old team knew that, and always reminded him of it.

"Why?" he asked, simply. It was the only thing he _could_ ask. The admiralty was the ultimate authority in the Flotilla, the only ones who could override a conclave decision. To his knowledge, the Alliance was the same way. Admirals were the ultimate authority, overseeing their fleets. Of course, they had less political pull than the Admiralty Board, but equal military power. Why one of them would directly attempt to recruit Shiv was beyond him.

"Multiple reasons. Your background check was difficult, but we found out a lot about you. You have a genius level IQ, high concentrations of element zero, and seemingly no rejection of your implants. Add that to a damn near perfect biology and Quarian engineering education, and you'd make a _very_ valuable addition to the Alliance. I've also found some interesting information about your past that will be yours if you accept my offer." Certainly unexpected. Shiv always knew he was special, but it certainly seemed like a lot more coming from someone else. And that offer of information was very, _very _tempting

"Is that blackmail?" asked Shiv. "Withholding personal information to manipulation me to join?" He was quite forward in his question, knowing that such inquires were always important.

"It's not blackmail, it's incentive. Give my offer some thought." With that, Hackett left the room, the door shutting behind him.

* * *

"Alright, listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once! You've been selected because you're the best of what Humanity has to offer, but don't get cocky! You're still all filth compared to any single N7 operative! A few of you have been through some shit; I can respect that. Colonials hit by raids, kids raised in the lower cities on Earth, hell, even spacers that never had a damn home. But none of that'll be shit compared to what you'll be put through in the ICT.

"You'll be pushed beyond Human limits. You'll be put in piss poor situations, trained for over twenty hours a day, damn near starved, and shown everything that can and _will _happen to you in the field!" The drill sergeant continued shouting, and Shiv listened to every word. He no longer wore a suit, now in Alliance uniform. His immune system had been slightly below-average due to his constant time in an environmental suit. However, he had compensated for such weakness with cybernetic implants meant to bolster it, which pushed his system up to average and even slightly above-average.

However, that wouldn't feel like an advantage in the trials before him. He was worked to exhaustion, constantly training to improve his body and sharpen his mind. After several examinations, he was matched with three other N1 recruits, each with their own backgrounds.

Alex Bryan, a young recruit, was training as an infiltrator. Granted, his aim could be sloppy and snipers weren't his thing, but he could hack any system out there. They called him Crypt around the barracks, due to his particular set of skills. Apparently he had been in an operation along the border of Batarian space. Further details were classified, of course, but it was obviously quite important. Otherwise, he wouldn't be in ICT.

Vladimir Ryzykov, a hulking tank of a man, was training as a vanguard. He was the strongest of the recruits by far, and his powerful biotic abilities placed him in the newer areas of biotic training. He was nicknamed Knight, due to his abnormally strong biotic barriers being like an impenetrable suit of armor.

Finally, there was Autumn MacAvery, a Scottish beauty. She had a smile that could melt any man, and biotic powers that could easily do the same. She was training as an adept, utilizing her biotic might to its full potential. Word was that she was capable of holding several singularities at once, a skill few biotics were capable of.

Over the following months, they were pushed to the absolute limit. Weakness was burned away without mercy, as any mistake could lead to termination. Crypt's aim tightened; Knight worked more with the team; Autumn grew more powerful by the day. As time went on and the team grew closed, Shiv thought less and less about his pilgrimage. Even Tali began to fade into memory as he found a place amongst comrades in the Alliance. Having spent a lifetime being treated like an outsider, Shiv's truest weakness finally came to surface.

He _needed_ a family. This squad was his family.

Despite being an outsider and spending years in relative solitude, Shiv was a natural leader. He always seemed to know exactly what to say, earning a reputation with his silver tongue. Along with physical capabilities that outshone nearly everyone in the academy, a genius-level intellect, and a penchant for defeating the odds, it was little surprise to anyone when he and his team rose to the rank of N6. Finally, it was time for their first real mission. Success would bring them closer to N7 rank.

As they prepared, Shiv noted that a large group of marines would be accompanying them. Including the N6 squad, there would be 51 men: highly irregular for an N6 scenario.

"The colony has gone completely dark," began Crypt as he read the briefing to his squad mates. "We're being accompanied by a marine detachment due to the delicate nature of the assignment. Guess they expect problems."

"I've heard stories about Akuze," said Autumn. "The colonists didn't do much research before settling in. It's not too surprising that things went wrong. Hopefully it's just a communications problem and not something too... permanent."

"You know protocol, we need to plan for the worst." Shiv seemed to have been thinking for some times before speaking, as he often did. "If this was some sort of attack, priority is securing surviving colonists and identifying hostiles."

"And if it was an inside job?" suggested Knight.

"Fuck, I hope not. Then it actually gets complicated."


End file.
